Perrašomos vietos ; Rewriting places : topography, identity and politics in contemporary Lithuanian theatre
The concept of "performance place", rather than a more common "space" is used to point out the significance of the physical and social location, where the theatre building or performance environment is situated, within the framework of the city fabric or geography of the country. The place of performance is a reflection of the shifting ideological, political and moral role which the institution of theatre is identified with in the society. The critical understanding of the place is related to the politics of the theatre, resistance to the discourse of power, as expressed by the artist's geopolitical imagination, and transgression of the social bounds. The aim of this article is to employ the concept of performance place to reflect upon the Lithuanian theatre – to see how the understanding of the place has been changing and what political projects or myths govern the choice of different locations. Two ideas of performance place are dominant in the Lithuanian theatre practices today. The first one is related to the conception of the national theatre institutions as a place which legitimates the artistic practices through the relationship with the local national community. The second locates performative practices in the fissures and margins of the first one – the official and national culture network. These are marginal places such as abandoned quarters of the city or post-industrial spaces which provoke anarchic and resistant attitude towards the tradition and power structures. However, both conceptions of place become problematic and ambivalent in the context of contemporary late capitalist system.[.].